Upon the Craggy Spine

A mood I had to express over my lunch hour today...

I persist…

upon the craggy spine of life

knowing full well my place

yet, my purpose

evades understanding

 

Unless…

Unsure…

Until…

 

You wander

upon this arduous path

finding my solitary vista

needing this sanctuary to be

unassailable…

 

I am weather worn

too young

to be thus, I am affected,

prevailing winds and exposure,

lightning strikes discharge

tensions explode, observed

by a casual passerby,

and I confined

within foundational rocks,

thirst…

 

Yes, it is constant,

this burning

thirsty, these roots

delicate and reaching…

a soft persistence

fracturing granite resolve

with a tenderness

of essential vulnerability

yet,  wounded

with the slightest disturbance,

a branch withers and dies…

 

There is shade to be found

if you would satiate your soul,

my fruit brilliantly colorful

succulently sweet,

fragrant blossoms seasonally precede

this display pollinated

by predictability

of chance happenings,

as deadwood past failings provide you fuel,

inviting you to play, cook, and rest

within my flickering combustion…

 

Delight yourself

underneath me

within my canopy of love,

swing on devotion’s triple twined cord…

scribe our twinned history

upon the bark of my flesh,

and when at last

the blight doth reach my heart

entwine me

in flowering vines

of shared purpose

covered in affection’s remembrance.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

feels like there is hope for this speaker...that someone has come along who could actually quench his thirst...reach his heart, as his roots reach for something to save him, make life worthwhile.
nicely done...jacob

[David Scott]

Thank you for reading Jacob. I think I might have tried too hard... I really wanted this poem to sing. Something is missing... I usually like what I write, but this one is haunting me a little. ha. I am sure you understand this feeling as a writer.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i do...we are our own worst critics...that is a constant...the pieces we like best often get little attention and the ones we feel are throwaways get the most and best attention.

you are the one who has to be satisfied, so i am sure you will play with this one more...